Windsor Should Have Listened

May 17, 2014|Letter to the editor

The decision of Amazon's builder to hire out-of-state contractors with mainly non-U.S. citizens, and the contractors' failure to follow Connecticut laws, was predicted by those who felt local hiring requirements should be required in exchange for tax breaks [courant.com, May 8, "State Orders 2 Construction Firms To Stop Work At Amazon Warehouse Site In Windsor"].

It was disappointing that other members of the Windsor Town Council or town administration did not agree with me that government could take steps to ensure broader benefits to our communities from economic development.

Although any business can make decisions they feel are best when they make all the investment decisions, it's a different situation when tax breaks or other public assistance is given to these large corporations. It is reasonable to expect hiring of local workers at decent wages.

That's not happening at the Amazon project. Windsor will certainly benefit from the additional property taxes this project will bring in, but what governments don't seem to think of enough is that we need residents who can afford to pay their own taxes. Low wages paid to out-of-state workers won't get us there.